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Hello and Happy Friday! I don’t know about you guys, but this girl is ready for the weekend! Seriously- between my mom heading home, two straight days of (super wet and messy) snow, and a zillion things to get done mixed in there, a laid back, lowkey couple of days with just my man and my little sound just about perfect. Other than a date night tonight (Neve’s gymnastics program is having a Kids Night Out), we’ve got nothing on the books and I can’t wait.

So you may have realized that yesterday’s post was a bit different than most in that it talked about our visit to a Bucket List castle that we’ve been waiting for ages to see, but didn’t have many pictures and none of the story (y’all know I’m all about the story!) Well, that was by design. There actually ARE lots of pictures and there IS alot of story to share, but they’re over on my new little corner of the Internet: Treats, Travels & Truths. That’s right, I’ve finally made the decision to take my blogging to the next level- to really make use of our current situation living overseas, of our years of travel, of our current adventures, of my passion for food and cooking and baking, of my personal trainer certification, of my Southern roots, and most importantly, my unwavering penchant for keeping things real.

Now, I realize that some of your are like me and you follow various blogs, so you know how it works. I follow lots of different kinds of blogs- some for healthy recipes, some for baking, some for travel, some for fitness and workouts, some for fashion, some for self-care, and even a few for things like writing and photography. It’s where I get ideas about what to cook for dinner, where to stay when we travel, how to get a certain effect in a picture, etc. But I also realize that some of you aren’t as familiar with the blogging world, so I’ll do a quick 101 just so we’re on the same page. (And honestly, I’m still very much in the learning phase myself, so if any of my fellow blog friends are interested in sharing your tips and secrets, PLEASE! Ha!) Blogs are not only wonderful ways to connect with likeminded folks, but they’re excellent research tools. There’s a blog (or a thousand of ’em) for everything! For example, if you ever look something up on Google, say ‘pimiento cheese recipe,’ most of the results that will pop up are, indeed, blogs. Or ‘what to do in NYC’ or ‘lower body workouts.’ Yep, alot of what you’ll see are blogs, much like this one, just on a larger scale. They are just regular folks who have taken their passions and put them to work, just like I’m doing now.

Blogs earn money various ways- through ads, through sponsorships, through guest posts…The growth of a blog is directly related to its number of followers- the more followers it gets, both through blog subscribers and on social media (like Instagram and Facebook), the more attractive the site becomes to potential advertisers and sponsors. Ultimately, the largest, most successful bloggers can end up with huge corporate partnerships, publishing deals, etc.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Yes, y’all know that I’m a dreamer and that I’m an entrepreneur at heart so all of those things sound wonderful to me and are definitely on my radar for longterm goals, but for right now? I’m just excited that two years’ worth of ideas swirling around in this head are finally coming to fruition. And to finally be focussing my passions into something, and in a way, that I genuinely think is needed in the blogging world. My goal is talk about my two biggest passions- travel and food (and a tiny bit of fitness thrown in here and there)- in a way that most ‘regular’ people can relate to. Some travels will be all out Bucket List adventure while others will be a budget overnight trip. Some food will be healthy and quick and perfect for weeknight dinners while some will be all out gluttonous. There’ll be talk about how good it feels to workout every single day, but then days (or weeks) when you just plain don’t feel like it. The goal here is to let people know that it’s not only OK to think both ways, to act both ways, to enjoy both ways. And that it’s normal. We’re ALL in the same boat of trying to find that balance in our lives. I’m creating a zone of no judgement, no stigmas, no harping on one thing or another. I’m calling things like I see them and inviting visitors to do the same!

And just to answer a couple questions that you may have…This new venture was officially born about 3 months ago after years of just thinking about it. I spent the first month getting my thoughts- and business plan- in order, coming up with my business name, networking with folks, researching, etc. Eight weeks ago, I teamed up with a graphic designer to design my logo and to build my new website, then I got to work on the content itself (because who wants to launch a website with no posts?!). And here I am! The site went live just a few days ago and I absolutely couldn’t wait to share it with all of you!

I haven’t exactly decided yet what I’m going to do with this space. For the next little bit, I’ll be posting here like usual and linking things over to Treats, Travels & Truths. Once things get rolling, I’ll likely keep this space to continue sharing our personal (non-public-blog) pictures, but make it private (subscribers only perhaps?). This site has been such a blessing to me for the last 8 years- can y’all believe we’ve been doing this that long already?! It started as a way to keep in touch with our family and friends during our first stint in Germany, then during my pregnancy and subsequent world travels. It’s been a way for us to share our adventures, to connect with loved ones far away, to make new friends…Heck, it’s even stood in as a therapist here and there! Ha! And along the way, we’ve grown to more than 800 followers (!), which makes me so excited to take it all to the next level!

I think that’s about it! I’m in the process of figuring out *if* there’s a way for me to transfer all of my current subscribers here at Thomas Wanderings over to TT&T as that would make things the simplest for all of you. I *think* it’s possible, but I’m not sure. That being said, it’s SUPER easy for you to subscribe to the new site if you’d like to just go ahead and do it yourself. Just go to www.TreatsTravelsandTruths.com and on the homepage, you’ll see a teal ‘Join Me’ button right there in the header at the top of the page. Click it and enter your info. Then it’ll be just like it’s always been right here- when there’s a new post, you’ll get an email. Easy peasy! You’ll also see a few social media buttons, so if you’re on Instagram (treats_travels_and_truths), Facebook or LinkedIn (Erin Thomas), please follow along! And please, please, please help me spread the word! Feel free to share the site with any and everybody on your email blasts! 😉 Thank you all SO MUCH for all your support over the years, and for continuing to stick by me with this new venture. Means more than you know.

Oh, and back to yesterday’s post. Head on over to check out all the medieval awesomeness that’s Burg Eltz– I wouldn’t label it as our new favorite for nothing! Ha!

One Response to “Erin’s New Venture”

Exiting time for you, your family and especially your friends! Such a creative and extremely smart young lady you are. Good luck on this new adventure. It will be successful because you are behind it! Love you dear friend.